Fushigi Yugi: The legend of Byako
by ChaoRinshen
Summary: The story of Suzuno Osugi, the Byakko no Miko, and her adventures in the Universe of the Four Gods. Rated T for latter chapters. Enjoy! I've changed the title. On hiatus.
1. The book that should never be opened

**The book that should never be opened:**

February, 1931-Tokyo, Japan

The home of Professor Takao Osugi

The rain was little more than a light drizzel, but it was enough to discorrage any outdore activities. No that that mattered much to Suzuno, she prefered reading anyway. Sometimes she would sit for hours reading about different places around the world. India, Englan, France, the United States, places she wished she could visit. She had also always wanted to visit Manchuria as well, but considering it's political relations with Japan, it didn't seem likely she would get the chance any time soon. She also read novels, particularly ones obout people falling in love. Will I ever fall in love, she thought.

She sighed as she finished reading a book about Egypt, another place she'd like to visit. Right now she just wanted to up and leave. Take off on an adventure somewhere, like her father used to do before he got the teaching job at Tokyo University. Suddenly, something hit her in the side of the head; a doll. She sighed once again, and looked at the four year old girl on the floor beside her. "Sayo-chan, please don't throw things at me while I'm trying to read," she said. The girl giggled, and appologised. Suzuno looked away to hide the smile on her face. Sayo was usualy good, and she enjoyed looking after her while the child's parents were away.

Now what to read next? She got up, and glanced over the various bookshelves that lined her father's study. Once again she sighed, she had read all of these books at least three times. Until he had become a professor, and had stopped writing, her father had constantly gone out to buy new books. When she had been little, he read them to her. When she learned how to read, she started reading his books on her own initiative. Now the only time they ever seemed to buy new books was for her birthday. Of course, there was one place in the study that held books she hadn't read yet, her fathers cabinet.

The books stored there were all priceless originals, and most of them were old and fragile, so she had never been allowed to handle tham. But she was certain she could take good care of them, and what her father didn't know wouldn't hurt him. However, there was one problem with retrieving any books from the cabinet, it was always locked. She looked around for the key, but knew she probably wouldn't find one. She was just about to give up hope, when she noticed Sayo's hair pin. "Sayo, may I borrow your hair pin for a moment?" she asked. The young girl nodded, and handed it to her.

Suzuno pushed the pin into the lock, and after a few moment she heard a satisfying click. She opened the cabinet door, and stared in wonder at what she found inside. Books like she had never seen. Priceless antiques, with names of places she'd never heard about. Novels that had never graced the shelves of any store. Treasures seen by only a very few people. Countless wonders written down, all for her to discover. It was like a dream, and she happily went about deciding which to read first. Then she noticed a book that seemed out of place.

She pulled it out; it looked too new to be one of her father's antiques. It was also very plain, like an unfinished manuscript. She looked at the front cover. It read "The Universe of the Four Gods by Einosuke Okuda. She knew him, he'd been one of her father's friends, but she hadn't seen him since she was very small. She'd heard that he and his daughter, Takiko, had died about seven or so years back. She remembered Takiko too; a nice girl almost 10 years older than she was. What a shame she had died so young, and now Suzuno had found one of her father's books. Slowly, she opened it, and began to read.

_Herein contains the tale of a young lady and her quest to gather the seven constalations of Byakko together. And if you, the esteemed reader, should read to the storys end, the spell contained within this book shall bestow upon you the powers of the heroine, and grant you your wish. For indeed the moment the page is turned, the story will become reality._ What a strange book, thought Suzuno. At the same time she was drawn to read it. She turned the page. All at once she felt a strange sensation, and a white light seemed to emerge from the book to envelope her. Then the white fadded to black and everything disappeared. Sayo ran screaming from the study, leaving the book lying on the floor.

Manchuria was the name for a region of China that was constantly being invaded by Japan at this time in history.

Sayo Aisaka is a character from the manga Negima! written by Ken Akamatsu. She died in 1940, about ten years after this fanfic takes place, and appears as a ghost in Negima!, which takes place in 2003.

Spoiler Alert! Acording to the original Fushigi Yugi, Takiko, the main character from FY: Genbu Kaided died after summoning Genbu. Her father died shortly after, and the book was entrusted to Takao Osugi, Suzuno's father.


	2. Tai Bao the gardener

**Tai Bao the gardener:**

Suzuno slowly opened her eyes. At first, the only thing she could see was blurred shapes. But slowly, her vision returned. She rose into a sitting position. "Ow," she said, after feeling something hard under her. She pulled the object out. It was the mirror her mother used to put on makeup, she had taken it from Sayo to keep her from breaking it. It was a good thing the mirror hadn't gotten broken, or her mother would be very upset. Suzuno shoved the mirror into the folds of her school uniform, and glanced around her. She was sitting in what looked like some sort of desert plain. What was going on? Only a moment ago she had been in her father's study.

She stood up, and looked behind her. She was standing near the edge of a cliff. Below the cliff, was a sprawling city like none she had ever seen before. Well a city meant people, and people meant answers. She looked around for an easy way down the cliff and, after finding one, began to make her way down. It took her at least fifteen minutes of walking to reache the city. There were guards posted at the city gates, wearing what looked like ancient armor of some kind. Where in the world was she? Fortunately for her, the guards were distracted with some of the other people entering the city, and she was able to slip in quietly.

All around, the city was bustling with the strangest people she had ever seen. It was very much like something from one of the historical novels she loved reading. She needed to find someone to talk to, but she had no idea who. All the people were so odd, that she was almost afraid to talk with them. Suddenly, a smell wafted up through the air. It was the most beautiful smell she could ever remember. She looked around for it's source, and found what appeared to be a floower shop. She walked over to it, not even thinking about what she was doing. Inside was a boy, who appeared to be a few years older than her. He was very handsome.

"Hello. My name is Tai Bao, how may I help you today?" he asked. He pushed his long, elegant brown hair back out of his face. His smile was so beautiful, that Suzuno couldn't help but stare. She snapped back to her senses, blushing beat red. "Actualy, I'm lost. Can you please tell me where I am?" she asked. "You're in the west end district," he said. "Um. of what city?" Suzuno asked, feeling foolish. He gave her a blank stare. "The capital city of Sailo, of course," he said. "Where's Sailo," asked Suzuno. "You realy are lost," Tai Bao said, his eyes widdening. "I'm s-sorry," Suzuno stammered. "It's just, I've never been out of Japan, and I don't even know how I got here."

"I've never heard of Japan before, you must be from realy far away," said Tai Bao, givving her a sympathetic look. "Well, I know someone you can stay with while you try to find a way to get home," he said. "Thank you!" said Suzuno, bowing. "It's perfectly fine, I don't mind at all. Just follow me," said Tai Bao. He closed up the shop, and Suzuno followed him out into the busy streets of the city. Noticing her confused looks, Tai Bao asked, "Is your homeland realy so different?" Suzuno nodded, never taking her eyes off the strange sights she beheld. Finaly, they came to a stop outside of a small house. "We're here," said Tai Bao, and they entered.

"Xue, it's me. I have someone I'd like you to meet," said Tai Bao. An old woman came out from another room. "And who might this be, your girlfriend?" the woman asked. "N-no, she's..., actualy I don't know her name," he replied. "My name is Suzuno Osugi," she said, bowing to the old woman. "I'm lost, and Tai Bao said I might be able to stay with you while I look for a way to get home." Certainly my dear, I'm Xue. Where do you come from?" asked the woman. "I'm from Japan," said Suzuno. "I haven't heard of a place like that before. How did you get all the way to Sailo?" asked Xue.

"Actualy, I'm not sure," said Suzuno. The last thing I remember was looking at a strange book. Then I passed out, and woke up here. What was that book called..." it suddenly seemed very important to remember the title of the book. "That's right, it was 'The Universe of the Four Gods'!" Xue's eyes widdened, and she exchanged a look with Tai Bao.

She pulled him aside, and Suzuno could only hear bits of their conversation. "Perhapse...priestes..." "can't be sure..." "Take...to palace..." "can't just bage in...unless...certain" "you have to..." "we've been through this before..." "can't hide from it forever..." "fine, but I don't think..." It was all very confusing to Suzuno, and she kept looking between Xue and Tai Bao.

Finaly the seemed to come to an agreement. Xue looked at Suzuno. "Tai Bao is going to take you to meet out emporer, perhapse he can sort out your situation," she said. Suzuno was grateful, but still confused. "Please come with me," said Tai Bao. He looked lost in thought. They bid farewell to Xue, and went on their way. It took them a long time to navigate their way through the city, and they at last came to the pallace. Suzuno's eyes widdened. This pallace was even bigger than the one in Tokyo. She followed Tai Bao up to a set of large gates, but they were stopped by a guard similar to the ones Suzuno had seen earlier.

"Halt what business do you have in the pallace?" the guard asked. "We need to see the emporer immediately. I've found the priestess of Byakko. Now Suzuno was realy confused, what was the priestess of Byakko? The guard looked like he was about to yell at them, but then he caught sight of Suzuno's clothes, and seemed to have a change of mind. "Very well, come this way," he said. They followed him into the interior pallace, even Tai Bao seemed surprised at some of the things the saw. At last they came to another set of large doors. "You to wait out here, I have to explain everything to his highness first," said the guard.

They only had to wait a few minutes before he returned, and told them to enter. The room was massive, and at the far end, sat a handsome man dressed in extreamly elaborate robes. As they approached him, Tai Bao bowed, and Suzuno followed suit. The man spoke. "I am emporer Kun Jiang of Sailo. You claim to be the priestess of Byakko?" he said. "Actualy sir, I don't even know what that is. I'm just a girl from Japan," said Suzuno. The emporers eyes narrowed. "I see," he said. "As emporer, it is my duty to know about the other nations of the world, and I have never heard of Japan. Also, I have never seen clothes like yours before. My only conclusion is that you are from another world, and thus, the priestess of Byakko."

Suzuno was taken aback. Another world. Was it even possible? Well, no one here seemed to know where Japan was. And she had certainly never heard of anywhere like Sailo. She might actualy be in another world. Then she remembered something she had read in the Univers of the Four Gods. "_Herein contains the tale of a young lady and her quest to gather the seven constelations of Byakko together...for indeed the moment the page is turned, the stroy will become reality._" She was inside the book! She had always dreamed of being a character in a book, and now she actualy was one!

"I invite both of you to join me for dinner tonight, and we will discuss further your role as priestess. Tai Bao thanked him, and they were lead from the throne room. Suzuno didn't even look at their surroundings as the were escorted to another room. How could this have happened? How could she possibly have been transported into a book? Maybe it was all a dream. No, it felt too real. What was she going to do? She had to get back, her parents would be worried about her. Her brain was overloading, and she felt faint. But Tai Bao put his arm around her, and all at once, she relaxed. "It'll be alright," he said. And standing there, in his arms, Suzuno believed it.


	3. The legend of the priestess

**The legend of the priestess:**

During the few hours before dinner, the palace servants never stopped pimping Suzuno, and getting her ready to dine with the emporer. At last, it was time. Suzuno was lead itno a large dinning room, an seated next to Tai Bao, who had also been made to look fancier. The only other peopl who were dinning with them were the emporer, and a red haired man whom they had not been intro duced to yet. When the servants had placed the food before them, The emporer stood. "I would like to welcome you to my table," he said. Suzuno and Tai Bao thanked him, and he sat down. As they ate, the emporer explained about the legend of the priestess.

"The priestess of Byakko is a girl who comes from another world to summon Byakko, the patron god of Sailo, and bring peace to the land. In exchange for her serice she is granted three wishes. In order to make sure that the priestess is able to complete her mission, she is given seven celestial warriors to protect her." The red haired man stood up, and the emporer continued. "This is Enlai. He is the son of one of the palace guards, and it was discovered when he was very young the he is Karasuki, one of the Byakko celestial warriors." The red haired man held up his left wrist. Emblazened on it was the character fo 'Turtle Beak'. "I have been preparing my entire life to serve you, priestess," he said.

"The emporer turned back to Suzuno. "It will be your job to find the remaing warriors," he said, the paused. "Actualy, another one of the celestial warriors is here at the pallace, but they're busy right now. You'll meet them tomorrow." he said. As they ate, they discussed what Suzuno would do. She was starting to get used to the idea of being in a book, it had always been her dream after all. And this quest to find the other celestial warriors was starting to sound fun. They decided that Suzuno would leave the day after next, accompanied by the two celestial warriors living in the pallace. At last, dinner was over. "You can stay here tonight and tomorrow night. Your friend can stay too, if he wants," said the emporer, glancing at Tai Bao. Tai Bao nodded, and they departed from the dinning room.

Suzuno had trouble sleeping that night, and decided to take a walk through the pallace. As she walked, she came upon an open courtyard, with a moonlit garden. In the moon light, she could make out a person sitting it the courtyard; it was Tai Bao. Suzuno was just about to go say hello to him, when something happened. One of the plants in the garden began to grow at a quick pace. Suzuno was stunned. The plant stoped growing, and Tai Bao stood up, brushing his hands off. He turned around, but froze. He hadn't realized she had been there.

"Tai Bao, w-what was that?" Suzuno asked. "I guess I should have told you the truth," Tai Bao said. He held up his right hand, on the back of it was a character similar to Karasuki's. It said 'Bond'. "I'm Tatara, of the Byakko seven," said Tai Bao. "Why didn't you tell me before?" asked Suzuno. Tai Bao...Tatara sighed. "It's because I was scared. I'm not the type of person to go looking for adventure. Ever since my parents died, the only thing I ever wanted to do was run my flower shop," he said. Suzuno hadn't realized his parent were dead, poor Tatara. Suddenly, she thought of some thing. "Does this mean you'll be coming with me?" she asked. He put his hand on her shoulder. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he said. "And I think that I want to." Suzuno smiled, she had been secretly hopping he might come. It had only been a day, but already, she cared for him greatly.


	4. Princess Problems

**Princess Problems:**

The next morning, Suzuno decided to explore the pallace, since this would be her last day here. It was hard to believe the it was only yesterday she had been sucked into the book. She quickly got dressed, and prepared to leave her room. I wonder if I can speand the day with Tatara, she thought, a light blush coming to her cheeks. She exited her room, and almost ran into some one. She looked down; it was a young girl, about 13 years old or so. "Who are you?" Suzuno asked. The girl grinned. "I'm princess Lin Yao, the sister of Kun Liang," she said. "My brother sent me to show you around the Pallace."

"Oh, alright," said Suzuno. "Just follow me, I'll show you everything," said Lin Yao. Suzuno obeyed. Lin Yao showed her down one hallway after another. At last the came to the courtyard Suzuno had visited the night before. It was beautiful, the sunlight was streaming down and mingling with the plants. Birds and small insects flew everywhere, feasting on the nectur from the flowers. Suzuno spotted the plant that Tatara had grown the previous night. A butterfly flew past her cheek, and Suzuno briefly thought about trying to catch it. at last, they came to a pond in the center of the garden. They stopped to rest, and Suzuno crouched down to smell some flowers on the edge of the pond. Wack! Something hit her in the back, and she fell over, into the water.

She surfaced, sputtering and gasping for air. "Oops, sorry. I tripped," said Lin Yao. "You'll have to go back to you're room, and get changed. Suzuno did so, and as soon as she emerged, Lin Yao was once again waiting for her. "Shall we continue our tour?" she asked. Suzuno was weary, but didn't want to be rude. "Yes," she said. The once again began to explore the pallace, moving in a different direction this time. They passed by the kitchen, and stopped so that Suzuno could have some breakfast. Then they continued down another hallway.

They finaly came to a big room, with large metal doors. "You should definately see this," said Lin Yao. The entered the room, which was lit only by a few torches. In the center of the room was a gigantic statue of a tiger. "What is that?" Suzuno asked in awe. "That would be Byakko, and this is his shrine," Lin Yao replied. "This is where you'll be performing the ritual to summon him." Suzuno stepped closer to the massive statue to examine it. It was one of the most increadible tings she'd ever seen. It was marble, inlaid with gold, and it had eyes made of jade. Suddenly, something hit the side of her leg, and she tripped.

She fell face first into the statue, and bumped her head. Tears welled up in her eyes. She turned the Lin Yao. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "Sorry, but you had a fly on your leg. I was just trying to help," said Lin Yao, an innocent smile plastered to her face. "Come on, we have more places to see." "I don't know," said Suzuno, not sure she wanted to be alone with the girl any longer. "Ok, but my brother might be insulted if he thinks you don't care about his pallace," replied Lin Yao. "Alright then," Suzuno said, still skeptical.

They left the Byakko shrine, and went to the upper flores of the pallace. Lin Yao lead her out to a large balcany, with an increadible view of the city below. "It's so beautiful," said Suzuno. "Yeah, y'know, if you sit on the railing like this, you can feel the breeze in your hair. Suzuno wasn't certain it was safe to sit on the railing, but she figured that if a 13 year old could do it, then so could she. She swung her legs over the edge of the railing, and realy did feel the breeze in her hair. Suddenly, she was pushed from behind. She managed to grab hold of the railing.

"Help!" she shouted. "Why should I," asked Lin Yao. "I'll fall if you don't. I won't live through that," begged Suzuno. "Everybody thinks you're so important, just because you're the priestess. Well I'm a princess, shouldn't they care about me?" said Lin Yao, obviously upset. "I'm sure they care about you," said Suzuno. "No they don't, said Lin Yao, turning her face away to hide her tears. "My brother hasn't realy spent time with me for years, he's always too busy. And I'm never allowed outside of the pallace, so I don't have any friends.

"I'll be your friend," said Suzuno. "Yeah, right! You're just saying that so I won't let you fall," Lin Yao said. "No, I'm not," said Suzuno. "I understand how you feel. I'm shy, and talk to people very much. Back in my world the only friend I have is my four year old neighbor. I've interacted with people in the past two days more than I have in the past year. I realy would like to be your friend, I promise." Lin Yao glanced sideways at her. "Realy?" she asked. Suzuno smiled. "Realy," she said. Suddenly her left hand Slipped.

"Aaaahhhhhh!!" she screamed. "Hold on!" said Lin Yao, as she bent over the railing to grab her. She managed to grab hold of Suzuno's left hand, and together, they managed to haul her up. Suzuno flopped over, onto the balcany. Lin Yao sat down next to her. They were both panting hard. "Did you realy mean what you said, about being my friend?" Lin Yao asked. "Of course," said Suzuno. She put her arm around her, and they stood to leave.

Latter that night, Suzuno went to dinner, and explained to the emporer about Tai Bao being Tatara. "Excellent, now three of the celestial warriors are gathered here tonight," he said. Suzuno was confused. "What, where's the other warrior?" she asked. "Right beside me," said the emporer. Suzuno looked to his right, and her mouth fell open in shock. There sat Lin Yao, waving back at her. "Y-you're a celestial warrior?" Suzuno asked. "Yup, I'm Kokie!" said Lin Yao. Suzuno didn't know what to say, so she just sat back down. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to travel with you, but now that you're my friend, I think it should be fun," Lin Yao said, chipperly. Suzuno nodded. Things were already getting crazy, and her adventure hadn't even started yet. What could possibly happen next?


	5. The start of the journey

**Helo!**

**Thanks to the people that reviewed my story, I'm sorry I took a while to update. I'll try to work on that in the future. This chapter tells you a little bit about Karasuki, because I realized I hadn't realy given him much of a personality yet. I hope you enjoy it, an please review.**

**p.s. Sorry the chapters are so short, they'll probably be longer once the story picks up, and more characters are added.**

The next day Suzuno prepared for the journey. The emporer had been kind enough to give them all extra clothes and other supplies, but she wasn't quite sure what people take on adventures. At least there were people going with her, or she'd probably be completely lost in no time. Still, it was exiting, like traveling to one of those places in her father's books. And getting to have her wishes granted made it even more amazing. Sometimes, she still wasn't sure if she was dreaming.

The palace servants helped her carry her few things down to where the horses were being prepared for their departure. She was asked to go to the main hall, and found Tatara, Karasuki, and Kokie waiting there with the emporer. "Good morning!" Kokie said, grabbing hold of Suzuno's hand, and dragging her to where the others were standing. "Good morning," Suzuno replied, trying to keep up. When they were all present and accounted for, the emporer cleared his throat. "On behalf of the country of sailo, and it's peopl, I would like to thank you all. There is relitive peace in the world, but there are always enemies for people as powereful as the priestess and the celestial warriors. With your help, the world may stay in peace for a long time to come, so I wish you luck. Once you have gathered the remaining four warriors, return here, and we will begin the ceramony to summon Byakko," said the emporer.

He escorted them out to where their horses were waiting. He leaned in, and hugged Koikie. "Stay out of trouble, sister," he said. "Don't worry, you know me," said Kokie. He gave her an 'exactly' kind of look, and continued over to where Suzuno had managed to climb onto her horse. "I almsot forgot this," he said, as he took a stone out of his pockett. "This was let here by the great oracle Tai Yi Jun, after the journey of the Genbu priestess a century ago. When you are near a celestial warrior, their character will appear on the stone. That's how we knew about my sister and Karasuki," he said. Suzuno took the stone, and thanked him. At last they could begin their journey.

Of course, most of her enthusiasm was stripped away when they were caught in a thunder strom about three hours in. "There's an old shrine just up ahead, we should be able to wait there until the storm lets up," said Karasuki, and the others quickly agreed. The managed to find the shrine, and ducked into it just as lightning struck the ground near by them. They got out some of the food, and ate lunch. Suzuno took Karasuki's lunch over to where he was sitting, and watching the storm brew outside. She sat down, and handed the food to him. "Thank you," he said. "Your welcome. Now, howcome you're sitting over here by yourself?" she asked.

Karasuki looked out at the storm and smiled. "When I was a boy, my parents used to take me and my siblings to this shrine all the time. Then they discovered I was a celestial warrior, and I barely got to spend any time with them. All I ever did was train to protect the priestess, but I still tried to come here as often as I could. Then one day, my father was killed by an intruder who was going to assassinate the emporer. I ran away from the palace, and hid here for four days. I never wanted to go back. But while I was here, I was visited by an image of my father, telling me hoow proud he was that I was a celestial warrior. He said I shouldn't grieve over him, and should face my destiny. So I went back to the palace. Now that this is finaly happening, I'm completely unsure. I was hopping being here might calm me down, but so far it hasn't."

Suzuno put her hand on his shoulder. "I know how hard it is to be unsure of yourself. Back in my world, I was always shy, and had trouble talking to people. I was afraid they'd think badly of me, so I never made very many friends. But in the few days since coming here, I've already made plenty of friends. You, Tatara, Kokie, and the emporer. This journey seems like the kind of thing that brings people close together, and gives them strength. So don't worry, if you ever have any problems, just come talk to me. Since we're friends now." Karasuki smiled at her. "Thank you, I was never sure if this was all worth it. But you're a good person, and I'll make sure you don't get hurt. Since we're friends," he said. Suzuno smiled.

THey spent the night in the shrine, but the storm was over by the time morning came. "Now we can finaly get some where!" said Kokie. "We'll head to the nearest city, several miles west of here. There are a lot of people there, so it's more likely to find a celestial warrior," said Tatara. Suzuno nodded, and they all mounted their horses. Suzuno looked at the country side as they traveled. The capital had been on the edge of a desert, but this road let in the other direction, into fields of crops, and a few small trees. It took them several hours to reach a small village. Karasuki said they should get a little food, to replace what they'd eaten the night before. But as they rode into the village, it appeared to be completely empty. "Where is everyone?" asked Tatara. "Maybe they were attacked by bandits," suggested Karasuki. Suddenly, something hit Suzuno in the head. "Witch!!" someone shouted.


	6. The Witch

**I'm so sorry I took so long to update! I just couldn't find the inspiration. But now I'm back, and ready to write more. So here's my next chapter, I hope you like it!! Oh, and please review.**

Suzuno rubbed her head, and looked in the direction the shout had come from. A little boy was standing in the open door of one of the houses, glaring at her. Suddenly, a woman appeared, and grabbed the boy by the shoulders. "Stop it, that's not her!" the woman ordered. Then she turned back to Suzuno and the other's. "I appologize for my son, he mistook you for the witch who lives on the nearby mountain. "A witch?" Suzuno asked. "Yes, she kidnapps children and puts spells on travellers. We live in constant fear that she will destroy our town." said the woman.

Other people were starting to come out of their houses. "If something isn't done soon, we'll all be doomed," said an old man. Suzuno glanced at Tatara, who had a concerned look on his face. Then she turned back to the crowd. She had to help them. "I am the priestess of Byako, and I will get rid of this witch for you!" she said. "Are you really the priestess?" asked the woman. Suzuno smiled and nodded at her, and the entire town applauded. "Wow, she's a hit, isn't she," Kokie said, wide eyed. "Indeed," agreed Karasuki.

An hour latter, Suzuno found herself ridding up a mountain. "This place gives me the creeps," said Kokie, looking at all the shadows surrounding them from the trees. Tatara rode up beside Suzuno. "Are you sure about this, the witch might be extreamly dangerous. And we need to continue looking for the other celestial warriors," he said. "Yes, I'm sure," said Suzuno. "If the priestess dosn't help these people, who will?" Tatara nodded. "Then I will make sure no harm comes to you," he said.

No sooner had he said this, then a roar could be heard. Suddenly, two tigers moved out of the forrest. "Suzuno, stay back!" Tatara shouted. Both he and Karasuki jumped off their horses, and moved between Suzuno and the tigers. Tatara pulled a seed out of a bag, and it sprouted into a vine. The vine wrapped itself around one of the tigers, and it was slammed against a tree. Karasuki's hands began to glow, and blades made of white energy formed in his hands. He attacked the other tiger, slashing and stabbing at it. Suddenly, both of the tigers dissappeared.

"Well, it seems you are not ordinary travellers," said a voice. They all looked up to see a woman a little ways down the path from them. She had her hair done up in loops, and was wearing an outfit that showed of certain "endowments". "Who are you?" Karasuki asked. The woman smiled, and chanted something. A light surrounded Karasuki and Tatara, and they were unable to move. "Surely you've heard of the witch that lives on this mountain," said the woman. "You're the witch? Why do you keep hurting the villagers?" asked Suzuno.

The woman looked at her. "Youve got all wrong, it's the villagers that hurt me. Just because I can do things they can't, they shun me. But this is where I live, I allow no fools to hurt me here!" she said. Suddenly, Suzuno felt something warm in her pocket. She reached in, and pulled out the stone the emporer had given her. A symbol shown on it. That meant a new celestial warrior was nearby. Was it the witch? "Um, do you have any markings on your body?" Suzuno asked the witch. "It seems you've figured out something about me, haven't you?" the witch said. Then she pulled the front of her shirt down a little to reveal a character on her left breast similar to the one on Suzuno's stone.

The witch smiled. "My name is Yi Ze, but I am also known as Subaru, of the Byako seven!" she said. "What?!" Karasuki asked, stunned. "That's great! I'm the priestess of Byako!" shouted Suzuno" "Don't try to lie your way out of this," said Subaru. No, it's true," said Tatara. "She's the priestess, and we're celestial warriors. If you release me, I will prove it to you." "Very well, but if you trie anything, I'll reactivate my spell," said Subaru. The light from around Tatara and Karasuki vanished. Tatara showed Subaru the back of his right hand. "I am the celestial warrior Tatara," he said. Subaru looked careful at the symbol on his hand. "Looks like you're the real thing, sorry about capturing you and everything," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "You think that covers everything?!" Kokie shouted. "Um, I'm very sorry?" Subaru said.

"It's alright," said Suzuno. "It is?" said Kokie. "Yes, you said the villagers shunned you. You were probably just trying to protect yourself, weren't you?" "Yes," said Subaru. "Also, sorry about the fake tigers," "No harm done," said Tatara, brushing himself off. "Are we really going to just let her go with an 'I'm sorry'?" asked Kokie. "Yes," Suzuno, Tatara, and Karasuki said in unison. "Fine, whatever," said Kokie, sighing. "Well, I suppose I coudl make it up to you by helping your journey. It's what I was born to do after all." said Subaru. "Yes, you can come with us to find the other celestial warriors," said Suzuno. This was great, now they only had three more warriors to go!


End file.
